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Day: November 7, 2012

In addition to the historic Election Day votes in Colorado and Washington, voters in several cities in Massachusetts and Michigan also decided overwhelmingly in favor of ending marijuana prohibition. Massachusetts voters in over 40 municipalities — representing approximately one-fifth of the electorate — voted in favor of local (non-binding) public policy questions in favor of ending the criminalization of cannabis for adults. A complete tally of these public policy questions and results is available here. (Voters in Burlington, Vermont also passed a similar non-binding legalization measure.) In Michigan, voters in […]

The beginning of the end…has begun. Yesterday’s elections have forever changed the playing field regarding cannabis prohibition laws in America (and probably in large parts of the world too). The citizens of Colorado, Washington and Massachusetts delivered game changing victories last night for the nearly fifty year-old cannabis law reform Movement. Massachusetts becomes the eighteenth state to pass legal protections for qualified medical patients who’ve cannabis recommended to them by a physician. Colorado and Washington become the first places in the world, ever, where citizens have cast votes to reject […]

Voters in Colorado and Washington on Election Day in favor of ballot measures that remove criminal and civil penalties for the adult possession of cannabis. The votes mark the first time ever that voters have decided at the ballot box to abolish cannabis prohibition. In Colorado, 55 percent of voters decided in favor of Amendment 64, which allows for the legal possession of up to one ounce of marijuana and/or the cultivation of up to six cannabis plants by those persons age 21 and over. Longer-term, the measure seeks to […]

Despite trailing in the polls for most of the previous months, Oregon advocates and reformers were able to close the support gap for their marijuana legalization initiative to a respectable 45% in favor and 55% opposed (with 55% of the vote counted). Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to push Measure 80 over the top. What this effort did, however, was elevate the discourse in regards to marijuana legalization in Oregon and set the stage for future efforts. We would like to thank all of those who dedicated countless hours into supporting […]

Issue 5, which would have legalized the medical use of cannabis in Arkansas and made it the first southern state to do so, was rejected by voters in a projected defeat with 52% voting NO to 48% YES (with 73% of the vote tallied).
NORML would like to th…

Washington joins Colorado on this historic evening in passing their marijuana legalization initiative, I-502, in a 55% to 45% vote (with 50% of the vote tallied). The Seattle Times has called it a victory for I-502. The significance of these events cannot be overstated. Tonight, for the first time in history, two states have legalized and regulated the adult use and sale of cannabis. We now must focus on the important work of implementation and begin to encourage other states to adopt these rational reforms. NORML will have much, much […]

In a historic vote that will reverberate around the nation, the Denver NBC affiliate has projected that Colorado will pass Amendment 64 and will legalize marijuana. By a vote of 53% to 47% (with 38% of the vote tallied) news networks have begun to confirm that Colorado’s Amendment 64 has been passed by voters. This marks the first time in history that a state has moved to legalize marijuana outright for adult consumers. This vote shows that, like alcohol prohibition before it, cannabis prohibition is a failed, unpopular policy that […]

With a current vote total of 63% in favor and 37% opposed (with 40% of the vote tallied), NORML projects that Massachuetts is set to become the eighteenth state to allow for the physician supervised use of marijuana. Massachusetts now joins its fellow Northeastern states of Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Maine in recognizing and allowing for the medical use of cannabis. When implemented, this law would eliminate state criminal and civil penalties for the medical use of marijuana by qualifying patients. To qualify, a patient must have been […]